Hi, I'm getting into the ultima series but in Ultima VI I can't seem to hit any gargoyles and my followers also, Iolo doesn't even shoot his bolts. What's going on exactly, does anyone know?

That's because hit rate has been reduced from Ultima 5 in general (with the exception of spells).

It is the character's stats that affect hit rate:
* Dexterity is used for most weapons; this includes melee weapons, unlike some games.
* Strength is used for blunt weapons, like morning stars. Note that Strength does not affect damage, unlike some games.
* Intelligence is used for spells. (Is it used for wands?)

A character with 30 STR/DEX will still miss fairly often in this game. (This is a change from Ultima 5.)

Spells are more reliable. A character with 30 INT will always hit with spells unless the target is immune. (This means that, if you have 30 INT and accidentally include yourself in the area of a Mass Death spell, there's no surviving it.) The catch, other than the need to use both MP and reagents, is that, after casting a spell, it will be a bit before that character gets another turn. (I suggest aiming for 30 INT with the Avatar. Using the Shrine of Honesty for your level ups gives you +3 INT, while the Shrine of Spirituality gives you +1 to all three stats; other party members should focus on other stats.

By the way, if you get a message saying that the target was "grazed", that means that your attack hit, but did 0 damage because of the target's armor. (Damage is highly volatile; all weapons can do minimum 1 damage before armor, and armor also reduces damage by a random amount, minimum 1.)

Edit: Also, low attack accuracy is quite common in the Ultima series as a whole.